Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the table with a 4-1 win against Freiburg. But, the match could seemingly be forfeited if the Bundesliga decides to take strict action against the league leaders.
During the final minutes of the game, Bayern Munich intended to make a double substitution with Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso being taken off. But, while the midfielder left the field, Coman stayed on since he didn’t know he was supposed to come off.
The fourth official had held up the wrong numbers, and for seventeen seconds, Bayern played with 12 players on the field before the referee was alerted by the home team.
Bayern Munich run risk of having result overturned
Here is what manager Julian Nagelsmann had to say about the mix up during the game:
“Coco Tolisso had stomach problems and ran into the tunnel. The fourth official showed the wrong number and Kingsley Coman didn’t know he had to go off. Mistakes happen,” Nagelsmann said at full-time.
“He was eight seconds or so on the field, then, I don’t think he even touched the ball.
“From the point of fair sport, there was nothing that speaks against it having been a fair game.”
Freiburg will be required to lodge a formal complaint against the Bavarians if the situation is to be probed further.
“We drew the referee’s attention to the fact that Bayern has eleven outfield players on the field,” Freiburg’s sporting director Jochen Saier told Sky Germany.
“It was bizarre, I’ve never seen it like that before. He couldn’t judge the consequences. Now we all need to slow down and think about it.”